Genetic Screening

Genetic Screening

Five year old Jacob Turner is a healthy boy without many cares in this world. His father takes sole care of him because his mother died suddenly. Genetic testing after death, showed a genetic mutation in Jacob's mothers genes that caused her to have an irregular heart. Unfortunately, Jacob has also inherited this mutation, but fortunately, this disorder can be controlled by medications. Now, Jacob's father has another problem. No insurance company will cover young Jacob because of his known heart irregularity.

Situations like Jacob's are now a relatively common with the advent of genetic screening. People can now look into their genetic make up to find out if they carry a deleterious gene or genetic predisposition to a disease. No longer must many people with high risk families worry about whether or not they may contract the same disease as their ancestors. Diseases and disorders such as Huntington chorea, Alzheimer's, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Hemophilia, and some kinds of cancer such as breast, colon, thyroid, ovarian, and skin can now be identified on a particular gene and can likely predict the probability of disease onset. But with this technology comes many physiological and ethical problems. Within this paper, I will define genetic screening, look at the controversial ethical viewpoints, and give a brief overview to this situation.

Genetic Screening is a relatively new concept that is just now becoming more widespread. In simple terms, the process uses techniques that enable the technician to identify mutant DNA in the person's genetic make up. If a mutant is found, medical precautions can be taken. If none is found, then it can be assumed that the person does not carry the deleterious gene and has the same risk of contracting the disease as anyone else in the population.

The screening requires that a tissue sample be taken from the individual to be tested. Where and what kind of tissue depends on the condition being screened. When screening for a specific cancer, tissue of that organ is most helpful. When screening for a noncancer disease, blood or urine will produce results. Because the tissue sample is small, a process called Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is used. PCR is a technique that enables more than a million copies to be made from a single strand of DNA. This can be done in a precancerous or cancerous cell. The copied DNA can then be hybridized.